Iron Man
by deadgoddess
Summary: Bella meets this man. He literally falls out from the sky, dazzles the heck out of her, and suddenly… turns hostile? Is this even normal? AU BxE
1. And from heaven an angel appears

THE IRON MAN

**IMPORTANT NOTES: I have edited the first chapter – really , really minor changes.. And to point out how minor they are, I have underlined them!! Yehey for me!! And for all of you too.. blush**

**DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I don't own any characters here, or any part of the character as well.. sigh Since, my sister **_**forced**_** me to add this, I did, because I don't want to be sued.. TT**

**A/N: I thought it would be hard for everyone, especially for me, to put this story in any particular character's POV. So I'm using mine, so it's like a narration from someone who sees all - even my characters' thoughts.. :P**

**And oh, take note - when the paragraph or phrase is italicized, it means that it is a character's thoughts - mostly Bella's - and yeah, it's the consequence for using my POV.. Well, enjoy!**

CHAPTER 1

In a particularly hot day in Phoenix, the townspeople were inside their houses, protected from the sun, but not from the heat. And so "The Valley of the Sun" proves its nickname. By the White Tank Mountains in the west and where the Salt River's course runs through, a young girl, the daughter of an inn keeper, sluggishly reclining by their rooftop lets her mind wander through the skies.

_Ah. Such a lovely, hot day. My kind of day. I love the sun, it gives me energy, more importantly, it gives me purpose to go out. Oh. It's already setting, but I can still feel some heat though. I really love staying here by the rooftop, having some.. Bella time, relaxed, nothing to worry about, - .._

"Isabella Marie Swan!" a high pitched voice shook her thoughts. _– and disturbed by my mom. Again._

She climbed in her bedroom window and shook her feet. _God. I must have had a long Bella time. I feel like I haven't moved in years. _She climbed down a pull-up ladder and glided towards the kitchen, "Yes, mom?"

Alice giggled and turned around holding a tray of roasted ham on a plate, "Dinner's ready!"

They ate like they do every dinner – the mother inquiring about her daughter's day, the daughter replying coy details, and then the mother scolds her, infuriated by her daughter's indifference.

"Calm down, mom," Bella coolly asserted her mother, "It's summer, what do you expect me to do?"

"You should go out more frequently! Or at least interact with the guests - there's a group of teenage boys in the second floor." Alice squeaked in the thought and went back to washing the dishes. She spotted an ant line and started to wash them off with hot water.

"Mom, I'm always outside. I love being outside! In fact, I think I'll go out now," Bella declared, stood up, and went back upstairs.

"Oh, that's nice dear," Alice, obviously aloofed and distracted, didn't turn when Bella stood up to go back to her room.

Inside her room, Bella sat by her bed and stared at a crescent-shaped scar on her hand. It was a birthmark, but it looked as though something has bitten it. She let her mind wander again and made her way out her window and back on the roof. Still staring at her scar, she reclines herself on the roof and notices the moon.

_It's crescent. And looks exactly like my scar this night. Oh. Tonight's a cloudless night. I can clearly see like, a zillion stars! _She satisfyingly rested her head on her two hands and began counting the stars.

_128.. 129.. Oh! A shooting star! _ She sat up and closed her eyes. _I better make a wish before it's gone.. _

She opened her eyes, expecting the shooting star would be gone by then. And blinked them twice, to make sure what she was seeing was real.

_It's getting bigger.. and bigger.. and closer! Oh my God! It's a meteor! Headed straight here!_

Benumbed, Bella scooted herself into the bedroom and hid under her blanket. When she heard a slight crash, she shrieked in panic, still under her bed's cover. Alice hurriedly jostled through her door, carrying a rake.

"What is it, honey? A burglar? Housebreaker? Rat?!" She shouted every word as though to scare the perpetrator.

"Worse! We're all gonna die! A meteor – heading straight for us – will squish us all!" Bella cried, still hidden under her blanket.

"Oh, that's nice dear," Alice said using again her aloof high-pitched voice, "I should've known better. There's nothing to steal here. Oh dear. Good night , honey," she squeaked as she giggled her way down the stairs.

"But, but, mom!" she shrieked, finally getting up from underneath her blanket. "I saw it! I made sure! I even blinked twice!" she screamed, her voice cracking as she cried in hysterics.

She looked out the window, went off her room, and climbed thru the steep roof, scanning the vast fields. She went further up and stepped on the chimney – still scanning the fields – and saw a mass of great, glowing slab of a rock-like object by the shore of Salt River.

Her eyes went wide with the confirmation of what she saw, "Aha! I knew I saw something! Okay, so it was not as big as I saw it, but I knew there was something!" She went back down the roof and entered her bedroom.

"But it was glowing, and green. An alien maybe?" She deliberated for a moment and went back out the roof again and climbed down their rhubarb vines, "I don't know, but I'm not finding out just sitting here!"

Bella sneaked past their house and went up a steep-looking hill and fumbled her way down. She landed with a thud on her bottom. _Ouch. Stupid, klutzy girl. _She rubbed her butt and continued on her way until she reached the shore of Salt River.

"Oh. There it is. It's like it's waiting for me to discover it!" she excitedly crossed the river, not even bothering to fold her jeans.

When she reached the remnants of the 'meteor', her eyes went wide with shock when she saw an inactive piece of blob. When she bent over to nudge it, it suddenly hardened – molding into a fetus-shaped animal – and slowly started taking the shape of a human. It moved ever so slowly – disgustingly slow. Bella stepped back reflexively at the sudden movement.

_Ew. It's like evolution fast forwarded right before my eyes. Ew. Oh. God, it's an alien! Oh! An alien!_

Instead of running back immediately to the safety of her house, out of curiosity, Bella leaned forward, that her face was just a mere foot from the blob.

After a few seconds, the blob stopped remolding and Bella ran her eyes over the thing. _It's a man. A man made out of marble. A marble man wearing last century's fashion! Ew _ She stood up and stepped back a little now, just when the man stood up ever so gracefully, but like a ghost.

The marble man blinked his eyes – slowly as well – and scanned his surrounding, stopping his eyes on the figure in front of him. He bent his head to the right and to the left seeming confused. He stepped forward and blinked again, this time opening and closing his eyelids in a fast rate.

Bella blinked as well but didn't step backward seeming to be rooted on the spot. Her mind was blank but as the marble man approached her, her eyes went wide as reality came over her.

"Oh! You're an alien!" Her voice rose as she watched the marble man stop in surprise. Her eyes went wider as she circled him in every angle, acting like a child seeing a toy for the first time.

She stopped in front of him and put on a n inquiring look. "Gosh. You look like a god sent from heaven. And if that's what you'll say you are, I'll definitely believe you. And judging from your entrance, I say you are."

The marble man had a puzzled expression – a raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes – and still stood perfectly still.

Reality dawned on her face, as she realized they weren't understanding each other. "Oh. Can you talk? You know, words? Blah, blah, blah, like that?" Silence, as they stared at each other, "Can you do that? Blah, blah, blah?"

The marble man opened his mouth and out came his first words, "Blah, blah, blah."

"Well, you get the idea, anyway."

Bella became so overwhelmed with excitement with her new found friend that, as they went back to her house, the thought of how she was going to explain how she found a god-like creature from outer space to her mother.

"Oh. I forgot. I can't just walk in with you there. I've got to hide you from mom, or else, she would freak!" She searched for a feasible home for her friend. "hey, there's a place! Grandpa's old stable house! How convenient! And it's hidden behind that power plant!"

She skipped towards the stables dragging the marble man with her, "There. You can rest here for a while. And to think we own a fine inn and I'm letting you stay here!"

"Huh?" The marble man put again a puzzled expression and his angelic voice gave Bella a hot blush that she didn't realize that he was headed for the power plant.

"No! Not there!" She quickly ran to him and grabbed him away from the high-voltage wires that in the process, her elbow touched the wires for a moment and she pulled back immediately. That moment was instantaneous but it was enough to send about 500 volts jolting through her right arm.

"Ow!" She tried to suppress the pain but it was scorching inside of her arm.

"You are hurt," a gentle but concerned voice flooded her ears and suddenly, the pain was gone as she felt a numbing coldness in her elbow. She looked down to see that two hands were holding her in her right arm. And she looked up to see a bland pair of eyes staring back at her in a worried expression.

The touch numbed her of the pain but sent ecstasy coursing through her veins and she unintentionally blushed again.

"You are red," the marble man again spoke with such gentle yet concerned voice.

"Uhm. Yes, thank you." Bella pulled back her arm, letting the pain recur, yet she hid the pain and just let it subside in her.

"Okay. Alright then. You go inside the stables and stay there, alright?" Bella said as she guided him in, "Don't go out until I come back here tomorrow. And please don't go near the power plant, okay?"

"Yes," he said flatly.

"Okay. Good night, marble man. Sleep well, marble man." Bella whispered as she took a final glance at him and closed the stable house's door.

"Yes," he said again flatly, while Bella wasn't there and couldn't hear him anymore, "Sleep well, marble man."

……………………………………………………

High in the skies, in a tower well-equipped with 20th century technology, a squad of scientists and US Government agent, Jacob Black, where an alleged informant came rushing in.

"Sir! We have detected an intrusion in the Earth's atmosphere!"

"Coordinates," his firm but menacing voice inquired.

"112 degrees to the North, sir. In Central Arizona, sir," the informant's voice shaken and frightened, responded back.

"Put the crew into order. Inform the General. We have a creature to apprehend."

**A/N: Oh, okay. I tried to retain everyone's traits but I just loved to make Jacob the antagonist, to make him cruel and self-centered, I mean. He's just so hot that way! Well, Read and Review people! Tell me how I did.. XD**


	2. Oh my God!

A/N: Ah, oh, okay

**A/N: Ah, oh, okay.. I did say I would be updating this Sunday but I just felt this story now! Review if you want more frequent updates! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 2

The alarm rang when the hands positioned on seven and twelve. Bella sat up almost immediately as the sound buzzed in her ears.

"Oh!" she huffed lightly when the memories of the previous night came flooding back in her mind, "Marble Man!"

She changed her clothes, quickly ran down the stairs and conspicuously made her way out the door – only to be stopped by her mother – ,"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Alice was in the kitchen, preparing the breakfast for the guests.

"I'm going for a walk, mom."

"Walk? Oh, dear. Don't be silly. Since when do you walk?"

"Mom," _Ugh. How troublesome. _"I've started walking about thirteen years ago, for your information. And besides, I'll only be out for just a while, mom."

Alice giggled, obviously finding her sarcasm hilarious, "Silly, Bella. You know what I mean. You'll have time for your walk after you eat. Come on, let's eat! My teenage guests will be checking out today, and I've got to feed them!"

Bella had no choice. She was going to have to wait a few minutes before she can see her Marble Man – her handsome, godlike, Marble Man.

When Bella finally took a seat, Alice came out of the kitchen with some bacon and eggs, and toast. Bella was about to dig in when Alice slapped her hand, and said, "Would you say grace, please?"

_Ugh. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought.._

Alice cleared her throat and repeated in a mother's firm voice, "Pray, Bella."

Bella was about to close her eyes when she saw a blinding light from the kitchen door. When the light dimmed, she made out the figure of her Marble Man, peeking in through the glass door. _Marble Man?!_

"Oh my God!.. Uhm, uh… oh, my God. We... thank you for the… er, food that mom has put in front of us and … STOP!" she screamed halt when she saw the Marble Man try to get in, she looked at her mother's unswerving expression and closed eyes, then continued, "…uh, the Devil… from doing bad things? And er, get out of here! …uh, Satan? Go! Go, so… that we may live in peace. Amen."

She calmed down at the marble man's frozen shape before Alice opened her eyes, "Amen. That was… hmm, really unusual, dear."

"Uhm… uh, I'm really feeling the Lord now, mom."

"That's nice, dear. Let's eat!"

Bella gulped down her food – eating the toast in two bites and gorging her face with bacon and eggs in one swallow.

Alice stared in shock as Bella pushed the food down her esophagus with her glass of milk. When Bella noticed her mother's astounded eyes, she sheepishly smiled, "really hungry, mom."

"Oh. There's more in the kitchen, if you're still hungry," Alice was starting to get up when Bella thwarted her from standing.

"No, mom! I was hungry. I'm full now!" Bell tried to be convincing as she patted her rumbling tummy. "Gotta run, mom! I mean, walk. Bye!"

Before Alice could turn her head to impede Bella from running right after a full meal, Bella was out the door. She stood up to check on her, when their service buzzer sounded through the halls.

Completely distracted from her first agenda, Alice fixed herself and put on a smile, "Oh! New guests!" and ran off to greet them.

Back in the stable house, where a previous impasse occurred, Bella dragged her Marble Man back to his hide out.

"Didn't I tell you? Not to go outside?" Her tone was obviously angry – not from the disobedience but because of the hasty almost-revelation.

_Sigh. This is impossible. _She gave up and sat down next to where the marble man was sitting, "Oh, I give up. There's no point in scolding you if you're so impassive." She lied down on her back on the hay and focused her mind on their impending new problem.

"You really shouldn't -.. You can't just expose yourself like that, especially at daytime. Now that I know that your skin shines in the sun, like.. like, a million diamonds are imbedded on your skin! " She was hysterical – a normal reaction from someone who saw a glowing godlike figure.

The marble man lied down beside her, his eyes focused on the ceiling, "I am sorry."

His tone was flat but his face was full of regret. She sighed, "Just don't be hasty, okay?"

Silence passed between them but, for Bella, it didn't feel awkward to be in silence with her newly-found friend.

"My name is Bella, by the way." She laughed as she realized they were still unknown to each other. _Hnn. I just feel as though I've known him all my life.._

The marble man looked at her, completely perplexed – obviously the term 'name' wasn't in his vocabulary.

"Oh, you don't have one? Then, I should name you." Her forehead creased as she thought of a suitable name, "John? Or maybe … Arnold? You know, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Hmm.. what name…"

"Mother is calling," the Marble Man murmured, Bella almost didn't hear it.

Bella laughed loudly at her friend's word, "That's a strange name."

"Your mother is calling you." He pressed at her, now using a clear voice.

"Oh… oh, Oh!" She blushed and stood up instantly, embarrassed by her foolishness, "I'll be right back! Don't go anywhere – I mean it."

She left the stables, running quickly to their house, leaving the marble man lying in the hay with an impeccable smile on his face.

"Please, wait a moment. I'll just call my daughter and she'll be here soon to guide you to your room." Alice couldn't help but grin as she thought of her daughter guiding a strong-looking man to his room.

At that, a loud crash was heard then Bella's words of, "I'm okay," as she tried to stand up underneath a pile of frying pans that fell on her, "Yes, mom?"

"Oh. I didn't thought you heard me. Well, then, this is our new guest. He said he will be lodging here for a while. His name is Jacob Black, bring him to room 16."

_Sigh. And here I thought the inn was going to be free of guests today. _"Oh, I was just around the corner, mom," then, turning politely to their new guest – as she had done several times to their previous guests – (who was dressed in a military attire, looking rather handsome, but she couldn't get rid of her impression of him as menacing), she said, "Follow me, Mr. Black."

"Call me Jacob." His voice was kind enough, but his dark eyes were intimidating as they seem to pierce through Bella.

She led him in silence up the second floor and towards the first door to the right. He never spoke another word since but Bella knew that his eyes were glued on her, she felt it.

When Bella opened the door for him, Jacob finally spoke, "Thank you, Ms. Swan. That would be enough. I can handle this on my own."

His words were polite in every way, but his voice was as menacing as his eyes were. Bella cleared her throat and prepared for her getaway, "You're welcome. And please, call me Bella."

"Thank you, Bella."

And as Bella was about to leave, Jacob inquired her still, "Oh, and you wouldn't know anything about a meteor, comet, or whatever that crashed near this are last night, would you?"

This caught Bella off guard. _WHAT? How did he know about Marble Man?!_ "Uhm… uh, N-n-noo, haven't seen a single thing." She tried to smile – and she did, sheepishly – as her words stuttered out of her mouth.

"How unfortunate. The government sent me here to investigate. Well, I think I'll just start from scratch then, thanks anyway." His voice was low and even, obviously intimidation her.

_My God! I'm in trouble! And I'm sooo a terrible a liar! _"Okay then. Bye!" Bella ran down the stairs, not even bothering to look at Jacob Black's satisfied 'evil' grin as he entered his new quarters.

Bella was back in the stable house very quick – of course, she couldn't have done it without a few accidents along the way – panting as she reached the now obedient Marble Man, perfectly still and handsome lying down the hay.

"I… I have… I… have to… hide you… someplace else…" she said the words between gasps of air. Without any response from him, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up, "Come on! I know a great place!"

He walked fast, faster than her. He seemed excited where she was taking him. He was almost dragging her most of the way. Then, the Marble Man stopped when they reached what seems to be a junkyard.

"Here… we… are…" again, Bella said, panting.

Now, Bella pulled the Marble Man towards the entrance between compacted metal and plastic scraps.

As soon as they reached the open area near the metal compactor, a loud roaring voice echoed through the place, "Bella! You're back! I missed your accidents around here! I mean, I missed you!"

When they turned their heads towards the direction of the voice, they saw a tall, burly, and extremely muscular man, headed straight for them, like an aggressive bear about to tackle its prey.

He hugged Bella – almost squishing the life out of her – and messed up her dark brown hair, "Haha! I missed doing that too!" Then, his eyes turned to the Marble Man, scrutinizing his features.

"Emmett! Stop harassing Bella!" Another voice echoed through the junkyard, this time gentler but in a more authoritative voice.

Then, a muscular but lean man appeared. He also had scrutinizing eyes on the Marble Man but turned kind as they looked at Bella, "Bella, it's been a week since your last trip here. Welcome back!"

Emmett pulled all three of them in his tight bear hug, when Bella bit his left arm, "Ow!" releasing them from his grip, "What'd you do that for?! Jasper, look! She just bit me!"

Her eyes were impatient on Emmett, "I was here to ask you guys a favor," then her eyes turned pleading upon Jasper. "Guys, I want you to meet Marble man. Marble Man, say hello to your new caretakers Emmett and Jasper" she dictated each name as she introduced them to each other.

"Marble Man?!" Emmet and Jasper said in unison at the strange and unusual name.

**A/N: Oh, was that a cliffhanger? No, not really… Mwahahaha.. There was supposed to be more for this chapter but it was just too long – for me though… I'll be uploading the next chapter later, but if you want it sooner, Just review and let me know, 'kay?**

**Oh, and if some of you noticed, the title of this story is **_**Iron Man**_**, but she keeps on calling him 'Marble Man'.. well, I think you'll know why in the next chapter – it's really just mentioned minimally but I liked it.. haha .. and if some of you haven't noticed yet, I haven't really mentioned the name 'EDWARD' in the first two chapters.. but I will .. SOON .. review!**


	3. Don't get cute

A/N: Ok, I'm sooo ashamed now

**A/N: Ok, I'm sooo ashamed now. So sorry. I was just so busy. I hope you all forgive me.. You're all soo awesome.**

** C**

**Heads up – the first ever mention of the divine name '**_**Edward**_**'.. lol .. And oh, spoiler someone's entering the story in this chapter. Any guess?**

"Marble Man?" Emmett and Jasper repeated in unison.

"Uhm, yeah. That's what I.., call him," Bella's face flushed when the two men burst into laughter.

Jasper wiped the tears in his eyes and Emmett pounded his chest, choking with laughter, "Can't.. can't you.. call him.. something inconspicuous?" He gasped between breaths before they both burst into laughter again.

"Yeah, I tried to give him a better name, but, uhm.." Bella stopped short when she saw something at the back of the Marble Man's neck. She leaned closer to look at it clearly and a wide smile flashed in her face, "Oh, Edward!"

"What? Who's _Edward?_" The boys' laughing façade broke as confusion overcame their faces.

"No, His name is Edward! Look here! He's an Extragalactic Devonian, uhm, ward.. ?" Her eyebrows furrowed at what she just said, "..atleast, that's what it says here," she said as she pointed at his neck.

A snort came out from Emmett's nose, "Edward? Ha! That's hilarious, dude!"

"Then what would you name him , then?" Bella's hands were on her hips, she was insulted by Emmett's unnecessary snorts, "UFO-man?"

"No way! That's just lame. I'd name him, Iron Man!"

"Ha! And you laugh at the sound of Marble Man. I mean, what's the difference?" Bella was biting her lip to hold her laughter.

"Iron Man sounds tough. Marble Man just sounds stupid! Who on earth would want to be name 'Marble Man'?" Emmett spat the words Marble Man as though it was a disease.

"I agree. And oh, I forgot, he's not from Earth!" Bella's sarcasm didn't really got into Emmett. Emmett just looked at Jasper to answer their query, "What do you think, Jazz?"

Jasper didn't take a second to deliberate, "Edward, it is."

………………………………………………..

Bella managed to convince Jasper and Emmett to help her hide 'Edward' from the dangers of Jacob Black, promising that she'd drop by everyday to make sure Edward was kept away from the city.

Jacob Black always watched Bella chow down her breakfast and he eyed her even as she crawled back the house by the time Alice was cleaning dishes. He decided not to sneak out the house to try and follow her every morning, but instead, he observed her suspicious acts from a safe distance.

It was early in the morning when Bella woke up and tried to sneak out of the house again, only to be caught by Alice.

"Bella? It's early in the morning! Where are you going?" Alice was drinking a cup of coffee when Bella shrugged as she came closer to her mother.

"Nothing, mom. I was just going to go for a 'walk'." Alice eyed her in disbelief but Bella's actions were becoming a daily morning routine for her. There was no point in inquiring further.

"That's, uhm.. nice, dear. But come home early, your sister will be coming home tonight."

At that, Bella spat out the coffee she just drank, obviously dreaded by the last piece of information her mother shared with her.

"How flattering. You're clearly excited that your sister is coming. Well, go on with your 'walk'." The sarcasm in her voice was clear, but Bella didn't notice, she was too shocked to answer back to her mother.

"What? She's... She's..? but, mom! I thought she had her own life by now?! Why?" Bella was gripping her hair as she wailed in breaking voices in sheer horror.

"Honey, a family is still a family…" Alice got out of Bella's antagonizing stares and started cooking their breakfast.

_Arrghh!! I can't believe it! She's coming home! I'm dead! She's bound to figure out about Edward. I'm history… _Bella stormed out of their eyes, not aware of the eyes that witnessed the entire drama unfold.

"Interesting…" Jacob Black's menacing voice faded in the distance.

……………………………….

As Bella entered the junkyard, all thoughts of her sister's comeback fled from her mind as two cold but heartwarming hands wrapped around her as welcome.

"Bella…" a soft, velvety voice whispered in her ear.

Bella blushed at the sudden contact, but only a slight shade of red. This habit of Edward felt awkward to her at first, but as his arms tighten on her more and more each day, she felt more and more comfortable as well.

Bella turned around to hug him by the neck, "Edward! So, how have you been?" She examined his figure. He looked normal now – if you can call a godlike man with inhuman features wearing Jasper's clothes normal.

"Good. But lonely without you."

Bella blushed deepened in color. She let go of Edward as she turned around to eye Edward's 'personal trainers'.

"I'm impressed. So, you've taught him to hit on girls too, huh, Emmett?" Bella said, shooting an accusing glare at Emmett.

Emmett raised his hands in defense, "Actually, it was our good old friend here, Jasper, who taught him that line. Tell her, Jazz." Emmett pushed him forward, trying to get the blame off him, but Jasper just shrugged his innocence.

"Come on, Edward. Let's leave these two at their game of 'pin the blame on each other'. Let's go for a walk!" Bella pulled Edward out of the junkyard, leaving Emmett running after Jasper.

Bella led Edward through the woods. They went to the shore of Salt River as they did a few days ago. They splashed each other water in the face, when a roaring sound of a gunshot was heard.

"What the hell was that?!" Bella immediately stood up with Edward who was leaning closer to the place where the sound came from.

"No, Edward! We have to go back! _Now_!" She tried to pull Edward back but he was too strong that she wasn't able to. They came across some bushes when another gunshot was heard, "I don't like the sound of that…" Bella whispered as they sneaked a peek at the two men armed with guns from the bush they were hiding in.

A deer lay sprawled where the men were pointing their gun at. Bella tried to pull Edward back but he froze on the spot of the bushes.

In an instant, Edward's golden eyes turned pitch black and his jaw hardened as he assailed towards the hunters.

The hunters, seeing his offensive stance, tried to shoot him down, but to no avail. The bullets just made a splat in his chest and into the ground.

The men shrieked – letting out ear blasting wails as they rushed out of the forest, leaving their guns in the midst of their panic.

Bella stood there, mouth opened in shock. When Edward bent down to examine the deer, Bella ran towards him, understanding his actions.

"No, Edward. It's already dead." She placed her hand on his shoulder, seeing the poignant look in his eyes.

"Dead?"

She sighed, knowing this was going to be hard on Edward. "I know you feel bad about the deer, but it's not your fault. Things die – that's part of life. It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die."

"You die?" Now Edward's eyes were filled with weary that Bella was slightly taken aback.

"Well, yes, someday."

"I die?"

She was caught off caught off guard. She hadn't thought of that question. "I… really, don't know. You're, I think, indestructible. And judging from your display earlier, I say you are. But you have feeling, and you think about things, that means you have a soul. And mom says souls don't die."

Edward eyed the guns again as they stood up to go back to the junkyard. He had his mind in the clouds as he murmured along the way, "Souls don't die…"

………………………………………………

Bella left by the setting of the sun, promising to return as early as possible. Her stomach grumbled as she realized she hadn't eaten anything, save for a cup of coffee and some sandwiches Jasper gave her.

She came back home, only to see a red convertible parked outside their house. _Good, Lord. She's home already?_

"Mom? I'm home…" She tried to sneak in, planning on dashing through the stairs with her dinner and lay down her bed. But when she entered the room, a tall and statuesque figure that rivals models was lounging in their chair. Her naturally brown hair was dyed blonde, waving down to her back.

When Bella saw her, she tried to slow her pace towards the stairs and halfheartedly greeted her sister, "Uhm… welcome home, uh, Rose…" then sprinted to her room only to be blocked by her sister, Rosalie.

"Aww.. that's so sweet, Bella. I feel very welcomed." Rosalie hugged her sister with all the strength she could muster. Bella felt that her sister really missed her, but she couldn't afford Rosalie to know about Edward – and with Rosalie's ever observant eyes, she tried not to give anything away.

"Ok.. so, Goodnight, sis!" Bella ran to her room, grabbing a bowl of ramen for dinner along the way, leaving her sister standing by the lounge with her strange notions growing bigger by the second.

………………………….

Bella wanted to be in her room as fast as she could. When she was about to pull the stairs down, she saw to most frightening pair of dark eyes staring at her. She was startled, horrified, that she dropped her boiling bowl of ramen, pouring it down her legs in the process.

She knew that the burning heat of her dinner was piercing her skin. But the hold of the dark eyes made her whole body rooted to the spot.

A few seconds later, "Ow!" Bella hugged her legs, hoping to soothe the burn.

But a pair of hot hands held her squarely in the shoulders. The heat emitting from Jacob Black's hands were numbing, just like Edward's had been, but completely opposite from the cool feeling her friend gave her.

"Your mom's out tonight…" his threatening voice was somber, aggravated. He had been waiting for too long. "It was supposed to be only the two of us, but your sister is no big deal, a dumb blonde. So, we're going to have a little chat. Sit down!"

Bella was terrified, she didn't dare disobey his orders. She was shoved into a wooden chair at the far end of the hallway. It was pitch black, she couldn't even see his figure with his dark russet skin tone. Jacob chuckled darkly, "Was I too harsh? Good. Forgive me, Bella, I want you to learn something."

His aggravation rubbed off on her, that Bella felt the urge to smack him in the face, "What _can_ I learn from _you_?" she meant to provoke him, somewhat expecting him to spontaneously combust, vbut instead, she just earned another menacing chuckle from him.

"You can learn _this_, Bella. That I can do anything I want, whenever I want, if I feel it's in the people's best interest." His once amused tone became low and threatening, "Your alien friend. Where is HE?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't? Does this ring a bell?" He took out a blurry picture of Bella when she was staring down at a blob from the meteor. Bella's open mouth compelled Jacob to continue.

"No? How about this?" He laid down a dozen more pictures of Bella with Edward. The pictures were pixelized, as if they were maximized a hundred times over – obviously they were a satellite's footage. Yes, the images were blurred, but apparent enough to recognize Bella and Edward's faces. His pale skin was illuminating, no doubt it was the feature that gave off his cover.

Moments passed that Bella remained silent in shock. Jacob's eyes were triumphant. "You were careless, Bella."

Her anger erupted again, she couldn't hold them back now, "It doesn't prove anything."

Jacob's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice still confident, "It's enough to get the army here with one phone call."

"Then what's stopping you?" she spat at him.

He was enraged, his patience wearing off abruptly, "Where's the alien?" He grabbed her roughly by the jaw, causing her to wince, "You can't protect him, Bella, anymore than you can protect… your mother."

Bella's face froze in confusion, this was definitely Jacob's last card, "M-my mom?"

His eyes lit triumphantly once again, he began rubbing her jaw with his thumb, "It's difficult to raise a child all alone. We can make it more difficult. In fact, we can make it so difficult that it would be irresponsible for us to leave you in her care, and all that that implies. You'll be taken away from her, Bella." His voice was sinister, enveloped in sheer darkness. He already had a casual victory, and somehow, she knew it.

"You can't do that!" she tried to believe, desperately looking for any last shred of hope.

"Oh, we can…" His voice was so low, it made Bella shiver. He leaned closer, "… and we will."

The way he said it made her realize he was dead serious. Her mind was clouded with images of being taken away from her mother, gone from her family. She had no choice. There was never a choice when her family was at stake. "He's at the junkyard," her words blurted out, "Jasper and Emmett's Scraps off the Tank Mountains."

Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes as Jacob lifted her chin toward him, "Good girl." He was leaning closer and closer until their faces were a mere inch apart.

"Bella! What the hell…? What's with this mess?!" Rosalie's shrieks resounded through the walls. Jacob's eyes shut close as he inhaled a deep breath before he distanced himself from Bella. Rosalie's footsteps were louder and louder, she was definitely tumbling through the badly lit hallways, looking for a sign Bella.

"The army arrives in the morning, Bella. Don't get cute." And with that, he was gone.

**A/N: Ahee.. Didn't see that one coming didn't ya? Well, me too!! I was surprised it ended like this, but I liked it. .. And oh, if some of you haven't noticed yet, I changed the category of this story to RomanceXhumor and switched it to Rated K+.. **

**Well, I made it quite long, huh? It's all for y'er there reviewing!Thanks for the great reviews! Love you guys! o**


	4. The Iron Man

**Here you go. Just wanted to say, "I love my reviewers!" Even the anonymous reviewers...**

Fleets of government tanks and trucks surrounded the junkyard. It looked like hundreds of men were encamped around Jasper and Emmett's Scraps. Long lines of luminous yellow signs that read, "CAUTION," were carefully lined around the perimeter. The soldiers lined up as well when two slouched figures emerged from the junkyard.

"Hey, hey.. What's this all about?" Emmett cracked his knuckles, while throwing out an intimidating look at the soldiers.

"Don't move!" A roaring voice commanded. The authority in his voice demanded obedience from every hearer. Billy Black, dressed in a black and white military suit, portrayed being heavyset, having a wrinkled face and russet-colored skin. His black hair made his eyes look menacing - even more scary than Jacob Black's. In his hand was a megaphone. His posture was firm, composed.

In his other hand was a piece of paper. He stood up and lifted it, showing it off to Emmett and Jasper. It was a manifesto, saying that upon seeing proof that the alien existed and that they are guilty of collaboration with a US enemy, Jasper, Emmett, Bella, and any other suspects, were to be sentenced to 20 years of prison and community service.

Billy Black lifted his left hand, and with a forward gesture, his troops entered the junkyard, gliding past Jasper and Emmett.

They searched under and over the piles of junk - metals, plastics, rubbers, etc. It was a wasted effort for Jacob Black. He was impatient, for he knew where the alien would most probably be. He marched towards the house at the center of all the junk. It was big, but only made out of metal as well. Jacob kicked the door down, ordering the men near him to secure the house.

The interior of the house was pretty big, nothing that you could imagine just by looking at it from the outside. Inside were more junk carefully stuck together, garnished, and labeled. Emmett and Jasper prefered to call them junk art and so they call themselves 'the junk artists'. (Emmett's idea)

But among the numerous junk art stood out something that you can never classify as junk art. It was a statue of Adonis. No, it was like Adonis himself that stood there. But somehow, he was dressed like Achilles' statue - with a bow and arrow, wooden plates that clad his chest, and a metal-pleated skirt. He was even poised like Achilles. His skin sent thousands of rainbows around him. His golden eyes locked on the ceiling and his face was hard as ever.

Them men were surrounding the statue. At first, all of them were dumbfounded and awestuck by how perfect iit/i was. Jacib was the first to compose himself, searching again for the foreign being that he'd seen on the blurry satellite images.

Billy Black, along with Emmett and Jasper, entered the room. His frantic eyes searching for something he didn't know, stopping momentarily on the statue at the far end of the room.

Jacob Black went back to the statue. His eyes narrowing over the aptly labeled "Iron Man" art. Ever so carefully, he poked the statue again and again, confused by how real it seemed for a statue.

"Oh, you wanna buy that? We already have a buyer for that. But if you can offer a higher price, that can be arranged…" Jasper said while joining Jacob Black by the "Iron Man".

Billy Black's face was nothing like his son's confused look. His eyes were bright with fury. "Where is it, Jacob?" His voice was very low, claiming everyone to fear him just by hearing him. Jacob just shrugged as he slightly shook his head.

More fury. Billy's position as general required his ability to control himself. But his disappointment in his own son was pushing him to the edge. He gritted his teeth, "Jacob Black! Outside. NOW!"

A few soldiers stayed to guard Emmett and Jasper, while the others were ordered to prepare for their departure.

Outside the house, Billy Black was all but patient to his son. He shouted at him, unintelligibly mouthing words, while Jacob just threw his gun to aside in frustration. His son's unprofessional acts were rubbing off on him, "You'll be Chief Inspector of Subway toilets by the time I'm done with you!"

Billy Black and his army left, dragging Jacob Black to sit by the rear truck, not even bothering to explain to Emmett and Jasper and seeing their victorious faces as they were joined by two more figures.

"Nice going, guys!" A female voice ended the silence. There were four of them now, standing by the entrance.

Jasper raised his eyebrow, smiling slyly, "If we don't stand up for the kooks, who will?"

The blonde girl shrugged as she shook her head, "Seriously, Bella. I could've died of all the shock you've squeezed into my head this morning."

Someone shook with laughter, then a booming sound erupted out of nowhere again. Wait, out of Emmett's chest, that is. "Yeah, me too. I was shocked to know you came from a line of beauties, Bella." Rosalie blushed a slight pink, while Bella slapped Emmett at the back,

"Yeah, such a shock. You could never know I was actually blood-related to people as _stunningly_ beautiful as –,"

Bella's breath left her when a pair of cold, strong hands slithered around her waist, pulling her tightly against a firm chest, "No. Not shocked at all."

She didn't need to turn around and blush, knowing the sweet velvety voice from anywhere. Instead, she just looked down and blushed.

Another moment of silence passed.

Emmett cleared his throat, "I didn't mean _that_, Bella."

Rosalie laughed, her soft giggles brought a smile to Emmett's face, "So, Bella… You said earlier about Edward…"

* * *

"_Bella! Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear me searching for you last night? I bet the whole city heard me! Where were you? Alaska? GOD! I didn't come here to have some eye bags! Look at my hair! I didn't sleep, eat, but most importantly, I didn't get to wash my hair! I was too busy looking for you! Who knew you slept in the attic?! And you do all of these while mom is gone, why? And don't even get me started on the ramen messing up the floor. Do you think I'll –,"_

_Rose's early morning rant was cut-off. Tears were welling out of Bella's eyes. Just the look on her face said that she didn't get to sleep as well.  
_

"_I'm so sorry, Rose. I… just.. I –,"_

_Anger that was burning in Rose's chest instantly disappeared. Her sister was crying her eyes out. Will she just shout at her, making it worse?_

"_No, Bella. Sshh… Don't cry." Rose patted her back, it was the most she could do for now, "Just tell me all about it…"_

"_Rose, you've got to help us! Edward! He's in danger!"_

"_Sure, sure. I'll help –," Rose's eyes widened in confusion, "Wait. Who? Us?"_

_Bella straightened herself. She took a deep breath, readying herself for a long due explanation, "Edward. You see it all started a few weeks ago…"_

* * *

Rose wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Bella, "You never mentioned about this," she said, pointing at the arms wrapped around Bella.

Bella's blushed deepened to a crimson red as she struggled against Edward's firm hands. He let go of her in confusion. "Uhm.. We've grown attached?" Bella smiled sheepishly, only to feel Edward's comforting hands twined with hers, making her blush some more.

Rose shook her head aggressively, "Hold up! Wait a minute, you've become friends with a.. Like, an alien?" Her eyes were wide with sheer disbelief. "I don't believe it – not that become close friends, but what I don't believe is… Edward…? He's…?" Rose was struggling really hard for words, so she just asked the most intriguing question, "Is he really an alien?"

Jasper and Emmett nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Bella. We've been with Edward here for weeks, and I still don't believe his some kind of an alien. He could pass as a human, you know." Emmett said while scratching his head.

"He's not really an alien, I think. I, myself, don't know what on earth is a _Extragalactic Devonian Ward_ is." Bella's grip on Edward's hand tightened. "So we can't call Ripley's Believe It Or Not, because they… wouldn't believe it."

At that, the four of them laughed incessantly.

--

The day passed by quickly. Rosalie spent most of the day with Emmett. Jasper was back inside their house, fixing their place.

Rose just made the artworks they showed the military earlier in random that Emmett and Jasper were amazed. She made a couple more "random artworks" that Emmett was staring with his mouth open in awe.

Bella and Edward were off to the woods again, playing along the edges of Salt River.

"Stop it! Haha.. Edward!" Bella was lying flat on the ground. Edward smiled crookedly as he hung over Bella's small frame, looking like a cub, possessive about his prey.

She struggled under Edward's body, which placed no weight on her. His smile just broadened as he saw Bella wriggling between his hands.

"I'll give you a thirty second head start for Round 2." His voice was menacingly playful. He stood up, pulling Bella up with him, before crouching down in a stealthy launch position.

"30… 29… 28… 27…"

Bella ran back the junkyard, half shrieking at Edward to stop, and half laughing at his animal-like position.

Rosalie, and Emmett stared at them play cat and mouse, seeming to enjoy the game just by observing.

Bella hid behind some pile of scrap metals but Edward knew where she was so she ran near the metal compactor, unfortunately, tripping along the way. Edward approached her carefully, looking smug that he'll claim his second win already.

Bella crawled around the metal compactor, looking for a stick, a rod, anything to prolong Edward's supposed-to-be catch. Instead, she found a big-looking gun. It was the gun Jacob Black threw to the sides. It was unloaded, harmless, so Bella decided to have some fun with Edward. _Hey, this will make things even. Haha._ She grabbed it and went out to face Edward.

"Ha! Stay back!" Bella mockingly pointed the gun at Edward. He froze his approach, about ten feet away from her. "That's right. You aren't going to get your –,"

Bella's eyes widened with confusion, then fear as she stared at Edward's changing form.

Edward's crouch didn't have any hint of play anymore. He looked more like a bloodthirsty lion rather than a possessive cub now. His lips folded back, showing his dazzling sharp teeth. A growl emerged from his chest, echoing throughout the whole junkyard. But the most menacing change in his form was his eyes – it changed abruptly from gold, into onyx, and finally into a bloody red.

Bella's mouth hung open as she dropped the gun from her hands. She couldn't move. Her mind shouted at her feet to run for her life but her body didn't respond. It was like her feet already died of fear.

Mere seconds passed and Edward was now about to launch at her. The two sitting figures were now running towards Bella. Her mind was frantic. _Could they make it in time?_

Edward's snarl demanded Bella's attention. As she turned her head to look at Edward, Edward launched his body, his form already in mid-air when Rosalie's high-pitched wail rang in their ears,

"Edward! NO!"

* * *

**A/N: The long awaited update… Sorry, with school on the horizon, things might be getting out of hand… But this was not the main reason for my very late update. You see, my mind gets invaded again and again these past few days. Ideas about a Post BD story just hits me like a bullet that I forget all my other ideas about this one…**

**Well, if you love me, send some love this way! If you don't love me, send some hatred this way! I'm happy to answer bashing reviews. Either way, review!**

**Final words. QUESTION: What do you think about me writing this story with someone's POV? And not just my narration?**


	5. Bella's POV

**Finally! Bella's POV!**

**Sorry for the cliffhanger there.. I'm mean!**

**Anyway, this chapter is short. I just wanted to update atleast a chapter before finals come. So, here you go! Enjoy!**

**--**

BPOV

Everything went by in a blur. I could barely see the images as they swept by so fast. Then, I saw my mother. Still so very young, when a child came crying to her lap. The child's face was shrouded with her brown wavy hair. Who is this girl, anyway? And why is she hugging my mother?

Then, another image showed up. It was me and Rose, about 10 years ago. We were still in high school, and I was always being bullied by Tyler Crowley, our school's local jock, into dating him. "You're the only Frenchmen whom I haven't dated yet. Don't be such a pussy," he was saying_. In your dreams, Tyler. _

And then it hit me.

This was my life flashing before my eyes!

_Edward. _

My eyes caught the silhouette of a figure up in the sky. My feet were still unmoving, dead on the spot. I saw Emmett and Rosalie, running, trying to save me. I know I should have felt regret for having someone as dangerous as him with us. But no, such vile thoughts would never be true for me.

As I stood there, eyes opened, awaiting for Edward's weight to crush the life out of me, I felt two strong hands on my shoulders, aggressively pulling me to the sides.

It was close. Very close.

Edward saw this and tried to grab me. But he didn't get to. Instead, he caused a slightly deep wound to appear on my left cheek. It should have hurt. But it didn't. I felt nothing at that moment. All my senses were focused on him.

I felt the ground shook as he landed on the place I was standing on just a second ago. The pressure and weight forced into the caused a very noticeable crater.

And then I felt it - the shock, the pain of the wound, and the tears welling out of my eyes. I winced at the wound on my cheek. It was bleeding and I could smell the intense rusty fragrance of blood. It was nauseating. I was on the verge of unconsciousness when I heard Rosalie scream.

"What the hell were you doing, Edward?!" She looked like she was about to pounce on him, but she kept a safe 5 feet gap between them.

"Edward, are you crazy?!" Emmett ran to her side, looking aghast.

"Bella! You're bleeding!" I felt Jasper beside me. He touched the wound ever so lightly causing me to wince involuntarily. It was deep, painful. I saw Edward with a look of extreme pain.

Rose was by my side then, brushing off the blood drenched hair out of my face. Her face was pained as well while she looked at my almost unconscious state. She looked over the wound on my face, anger burned in her eyes. Gently, she stood up and faced Edward, taking a firm posture.

"I knew you were trouble! Look! Look at what you've done!" Edward's face looked like he was about to cry. I wanted to stop her. Stop everything that caused Edward pain. _I'm still alive, aren't I? No harm done here._

But Rose continued, "I thought I could trust you with her. She was so happy, for Christ's sake! But how?! How could you do this to her? Why?! What did she do?"

At that, Edward held my gaze. His red eyes turned black. It was like he was apologizing, but the confusion on his face was above everything. He didn't know what happened. But he didn't have to explain. I'll definitely forgive him – one way or the other…

"Go. Now." Rosalie said through gritted teeth.

Emmett moved to hold Rosalie. He told her something that relaxed her, then kissed her on the cheek? I didn't know, my eyes were barely open.

My eyes were caught by Edward's gaze again. They were green now, gentle. He smiled sadly before leaping off to disappear out of my eyesight.

_Wait. Edward! Where did he go?_

My eyes searched frantically for the flawless figure I've become familiar with. I only saw Rosalie hug Emmett, and Jasper leaning over me. He whispered, "Everything's going to be all right, Bella."

My consciousness was starting to fade. _What about Edward?_

Jasper brushed the dirt off my face. I saw Emmett and Rose walk towards me.

Everything went black.

- - -

when you could live forever , what do you live for?

Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.

No blood , no foul.

Mike - Schimke!

The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business.

Are you still fainted from the run? Or was it my kissing expertise?

Stupid , shiny Volvo owner.

Twilight. No matter how perfect the day is it always has to end.

**Yeah, i know i'm addicted... So what?**


	6. He's coming back, isn't he?

**A/N: I hoped to bring more puns, but this needs some drama. Eh. I'm just trying to finish this. Hope you don't hate me.**

**Oh, I can't do EPOV. Don't know how a gorgeous alien's mind works.**

**

* * *

**

Pain.

_Ow. What a nightmare. Edward…_

My head started to ache as I felt pain in my left cheek. _Ow._ Light was starting to penetrate my closed eyes now.

_Ow._ More pain.

My arms and legs felt wobbly, like jelly. Moving seemed impossible, so I tried to open my eyes.

_Ow._ Bad idea. The light was too bright for my eyes.

_Okay, Bella. Suck it up. It's now or never._

I opened my eyes. To see myself inside Jasper and Emmett's house. The rusty smell of their walls were too strong. It made my nose crinkle. _Okay. No wonder no girl goes here._

Involuntarily, my left hand grazed over the swollen wound on my cheek. _So this was what's causing the pain._

I got up and searched for a clock. It said 9:42. _What? In the morning? And where's Rose? Emmett? And Jasper?_

And more importantly… _Edward?_

Now I was panicking. How long was I asleep anyway?

"Rose?" I barely heard myself_. What the?! My voice…_

I thought nobody would here me. But Rose entered looking worried. She must have been close then, probably just right outside.

"What, Bella? Does something hurt? Are you hungry? Do you need – ,"

"No, Rose. I'm fine." I felt a little head rush, but there were more pressing matters in my mind. "I just need… to know if…"

"No, Bella. _He's_ not here. _He's_ gone. And I hope it's for good."

"Rose!" I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "How can you even think like that? It's just a scratch! See? These things happen to me all the time, you know. "

"Yeah, _just_ a scratch. But he was aiming for you, Bella. He was trying to kill you, for goodness' sake! If Jasper wasn't there, you wouldn't be here right now!"

The tears were now flowing down my cheeks. Edward couldn't have… "it's not what it seemed. He was not…"

"And what did you think he was doing?" Rose's voice was infuriated now. Emmett and Jasper came in looking confused. Emmett went by Rose's side and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"He was… we were just fooling around, then… I played with the gun at him. Then, he… " _Wait, what?_

My eyes widened. There was an explanation to why Edward acted strange, after all. _He's not a bad guy!_

Rose, Emmett, and Jasper were all looking at me, confused.

"He was not trying to kill me. Well, he was, but…" My voice rose as realization hit me. Rose rolled here eyes. "The gun."

At that, Jasper's eyes widened too. He knows. He saw the gun in my hand.  
Emmett and Rose just stared at me, still confused, when Jasper finally explained.

"It's Edward's weapon triggering system, I think. I saw him react like that when one artwork of mine resembled a gun. I think it's a defense mechanism that reacted to the gun Bella was pointing at him."

It took a moment for the information to finally set in Emmett and Rose's head. But by the time they understood and called for me, I was already on my way out the door.

"Gun? You had a gun?!"

"Bella, wait!"

"I have to find him," I said, without turning around. "He needs me now."

--

We have been searching for Edward for almost ten hours. Rose and Emmett searched in the city, while Mom joined Jasper when we searched near Salt Lake.

Any sign of him would make me jump a bit. But everywhere we looked there was no Edward. No hope.

Did he return to where he came from? Will I never see him again? _Please, no…_

We were back in the junkyard with nothing. My eyes started welling up with tears. I tried to hold them back. I slightly angled my head up, trying to push back the tears. I sniffed lightly. I felt weak. But soon, I felt strong hands help keep me up straight. They weren't the hands I was accustomed to, the hands I was hoping to hold me again. Strong but tender, cool and hard.

Jasper's hands were a bit comforting, but they were nothing compared to Emmett's bone-breaking hug. If we were in normal circumstances, I would have laughed. But we were not.

I still hoped he would come back, to tell him nothing was wrong, and that I wanted to keep searching for him. Everyone was worried about him. But, I knew, everyone was more worried about me.

I stood up and started to walk out the junkyard.

"Wait, Bella. Where are you going?" Rose's eyes confirmed what I was thinking. She stood up as well and started to walk towards me.

"Rose," I wanted to tell her I'll be searching for him. But I knew better than to give Rose and idea that I felt as though the world has ended for me. "I want to walk for a while. I need some air."

"I'll go with you."

I gritted my teeth. "You don't have to. I can take care of myself." _Patience, Bella._

"Oh no, you don't right now, you can't"

"Rose. I've taken care of myself, for god knows how many years, without you. And I promise you, I sure as hell don't need you now." My jaw hurt. I knew I was stupid for provoking Rose, but I wasn't exactly in any condition to be babysat right now.

I looked at Rose. She was taken aback. But then, she also looked like she might cry. "Be back by twilight."

I felt worse. I felt really down right now, but that didn't mean everyone had to feel the same way. Rose was a fighter, but she was backing down for me. I don't need pity. And I don't need my loved ones feeling bad. _Because of me._

"Rose, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I just…"

Mom stood up and gracefully walked to my side. "Honey, we know." She smiled at me. Everyone else was.

For the first time in the last ten hours, I was really happy. Happily smiling that I wasn't alone. _This isn't the end._

_I know I'll find Edward._

_--  
_

I walked at the edge of _our_ favorite place.

It's been barely a month since I first meet him. But I feel as though I've been waiting for him my whole life. _I don't know what I'm feeling right now. Is this what you're supposed to feel when you've lost someone you cared for? Or do I feel something more…_

I sat down on a rock near Salt Lake's shore. The water in the lake was calming to watch. Ripple by ripple appear as the wind blew from different directions. Everything was peaceful. But something was wrong. It was quiet. Too quiet.

_Where were all the animals?_

I looked around. There wasn't anything peculiar, so why did I feel unnerved?

I stood up, carefully. So maybe this _walk_ wasn't a good idea after all.

I started to work my way back the junkyard. I walked the edge of the lake, trying to figure out the direction I need to go to. I picked up my pace when I felt something move in the forest. Bad idea. _God, I'm so stupid. You're a klutz, remember?_

I slipped on a muddy part of the shore. _Shit! _Trying to grab hold of something, I flailed my arms wildly around me, hitting a tree trunk right smack to my right wrist. I slipped, fell down the water, and from m top-down position, my legs hit the bottom of the water. Hard. _Oh, shit. I'm in a heap of trouble._

Before the water completely submerged me, I saw something stride towards me.

A flash of something dashing in my direction.

A surge of great pain completely numbing my senses.

And then, nothing.

* * *

**A/N: There. I just need some motivation. I have too many books to read, it's all jammed up here. Motivate me, please.**


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